U.S. patent number 7,106,382 [Application Number 10/105,214] was granted by the patent office on 2006-09-12 for information processing system and information processing apparatus.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Fujitsu Limited. Invention is credited to Shinichi Shiotsu.
United States Patent |
7,106,382 |
Shiotsu |
September 12, 2006 |
Information processing system and information processing
apparatus
Abstract
An information processing system and apparatus receiving a
television broadcast includes: a direct receiving unit directly
receiving television broadcast waves; an indirect receiving unit
indirectly receiving the television broadcast waves; and a
switching unit determining whether the television broadcast waves
are to be received by the direct receiving unit or the indirect
receiving unit by switching between the direct receiving unit and
the indirect receiving unit based on their reception conditions.
With this configuration, it is possible to obtain
television-broadcast video signals from the selected receiving
unit. The indirect receiving unit is preferably formed of a
communication device provided with a wireless cellular telephone
function using a wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA)
system in which signals having a large transmission capacity can be
transmitted and received, or a communication device provided with a
wireless LAN communication function.
Inventors: |
Shiotsu; Shinichi (Kobe,
JP) |
Assignee: |
Fujitsu Limited (Kawasaki,
JP)
|
Family
ID: |
19081011 |
Appl.
No.: |
10/105,214 |
Filed: |
March 26, 2002 |
Prior Publication Data
|
|
|
|
Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
|
US 20030038897 A1 |
Feb 27, 2003 |
|
Foreign Application Priority Data
|
|
|
|
|
Aug 23, 2001 [JP] |
|
|
2001-252556 |
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
348/555;
348/E5.108; 348/706; 348/725; 455/277.2; 725/59; 348/729; 348/554;
348/E5.096; 348/E5.003 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04N
5/44 (20130101); H04N 21/44209 (20130101); H04N
21/4622 (20130101); H04N 21/6112 (20130101); H04N
21/41407 (20130101); H04N 21/6131 (20130101); H04B
7/082 (20130101); H04N 21/426 (20130101); H04N
5/4401 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
H04N
5/46 (20060101); H04N 3/27 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;348/570,553,554,555,552,725,723,729,732,731,706,705,180,181,193
;455/277.1,277.2,154.1,191.3,197.1,226.1,226.2,226.3
;725/38,51,68,59,70,110,81,109,82,132,133,139,141,151,153 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
6-252896 |
|
Sep 1994 |
|
JP |
|
10-112724 |
|
Apr 1998 |
|
JP |
|
11-068686 |
|
Mar 1999 |
|
JP |
|
2001-211126 |
|
Aug 2001 |
|
JP |
|
2001-217735 |
|
Aug 2001 |
|
JP |
|
2001-308747 |
|
Nov 2001 |
|
JP |
|
Other References
Notification of Reasons for Refusal dated Apr. 6, 2005 for
Application No. 2001-252556. cited by other.
|
Primary Examiner: Ometz; David
Assistant Examiner: Desir; Jean W.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Staas & Halsey LLP
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An information processing system, comprising: a remote terminal
device transmitting a television broadcast via a communication
network; and an information processing apparatus, comprising: a
communication device receiving the television broadcast from said
remote terminal device and transmitting a signal, wherein said
communication device is able to perform transmission and reception
via the communication network, and said communication device
receives the television broadcast from a transmitting side to which
said communication device has sent transmission request information
including identification information, a television-broadcast
receiver receiving television broadcast waves, and a reception
monitor generating a selection signal determining whether the
television broadcast is to be received by said television-broadcast
receiver or by said communication device based on a reception
condition of the television broadcast received by said
television-broadcast receiver.
2. An information processing system according to claim 1, wherein
said reception monitor generates the selection signal based on a
signal indicating the reception condition of the television
broadcast received by said television-broadcast receiver and a
reception condition of the television broadcast received by said
communication device.
3. An information processing system according to claim 1, wherein
the communication network includes at least one of a public line
and a private line.
4. An information processing system according to claim 1, wherein
said reception monitor generates the selection signal by comparing
a signal level indicating the reception condition of the signal
received by said television-broadcast receiver with a predetermined
corresponding signal level.
5. An information processing system according to claim 4, wherein
the signal level indicating the reception condition and the
predetermined corresponding signal level respectively indicate a
signal-to-noise ratio of the received signal and a predetermined
signal-to-noise ratio, a reception strength of the received signal
and a predetermined reception strength, or a bit error rate of the
received signal and a predetermined bit error rate.
6. An information processing system according to claim 1, further
comprising a power control device for controlling power supply to
said television-broadcast receiver or to said communication device
based on the selection signal.
7. An information processing system according to claim 1, further
comprising a storage device used for recording the television
broadcast and for playing back the recorded television broadcast
after the lapse of a delay time.
8. An information processing system according to claim 1, wherein
the television broadcast received by said television-broadcast
receiver is transmitted from said communication device via the
communication network.
9. An information processing system according to claim 1, wherein
both the television broadcast received by said television-broadcast
receiver and the television broadcast received by said
communication device are displayable.
10. An information processing apparatus, comprising: a
television-broadcast receiver; a communication device receiving a
television broadcast via a communication network and transmitting a
signal, wherein said communication device is able to perform
transmission and reception via the communication network, and said
communication device receives the television broadcast from a
transmitting side to which said communication device has sent
transmission request information including identification
information; and a reception monitor generating a selection signal
determining whether the television broadcast is to be received by
said television-broadcast receiver or by said communication device
based on a reception condition of the television broadcast received
by said television-broadcast receiver.
11. An information processing apparatus according to claim 10,
further comprising a storage device, wherein a signal of the
received television broadcast is recorded in said storage
device.
12. An information processing apparatus according to claim 10,
further comprising a storage device, wherein a signal of the
received television broadcast is recorded in said storage device,
and is also recorded in another storage device via said
communication device.
13. An information processing apparatus according to claim 10,
wherein said reception monitor generates the selection signal by
comparing a signal level indicating the reception condition of the
signal received by said television-broadcast receiver with a
predetermined corresponding signal level.
14. An information processing apparatus according to claim 13,
wherein the signal level indicating the reception condition and the
predetermined corresponding signal level respectively indicate a
signal-to-noise ratio of the received signal and a predetermined
signal-to-noise ratio, a reception strength of the received signal
and a predetermined reception strength, or a bit error rate of the
received signal and a predetermined bit error rate.
15. An information processing system according to claim 10, further
comprising a power control device for controlling power supply to
said television-broadcast receiver or to said communication device
based on the selection signal.
16. An information processing system according to claim 10, wherein
the television broadcast received by said television-broadcast
receiver is transmitted from said communication device via the
communication network.
17. An information processing apparatus comprising: a
television-broadcast receiver; a communication device receiving a
television broadcast via a communication network and transmitting a
signal, wherein said communication device is able to perform
transmission and reception via the communication network, and said
communication device receives the television broadcast from a
transmitting side to which said communication device has sent
transmission request information including identification
information; a reception monitor generating a selection signal
determining whether the television broadcast is to be received by
said television-broadcast receiver or by said communication device
based on a reception condition of the television broadcast received
by said television-broadcast receiver; and a display device
displaying the selected television broadcast.
18. A mobile computer, comprising: a television-broadcast receiver;
a communication device receiving a television broadcast via a
communication network and transmitting a signal, wherein said
communication device is able to perform transmission and reception
via the communication network, and said communication device
receives the television broadcast from a transmitting side to which
said communication device has sent transmission request information
including identification information; and a reception monitor
generating a selection signal determining whether the television
broadcast is to be received by said television-broadcast receiver
or by said communication device based on a reception condition of
the television broadcast received by said television-broadcast
receiver.
19. A method of processing information, comprising: transmitting a
television broadcast via a communication network; receiving the
television broadcast from a remote terminal device and transmitting
a signal, wherein said receiving and transmitting is performed via
the communication network, and said television broadcast is
received from a transmitting side to which transmission request
information including identification information is sent; receiving
television broadcast waves; and generating a selection signal
determining whether the television broadcast is to be received by a
television-broadcast receiver or by a communication device based on
a reception condition of the television broadcast received by a
television-broadcast receiver.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an information
processing apparatus having a built-in television-broadcast
receiving function for receiving television broadcasts, and more
particularly, to an information processing apparatus which allows
viewers to watch television broadcasts regardless of the reception
condition of the television broadcasts.
2. Description of the Related Art
Personal computers (hereinafter referred to as "PCs") having a
television-broadcast receiving function are becoming widespread. At
present, desk-top PCs having a television-broadcast receiving
function are primarily used. However, when digital terrestrial
broadcasts start in Japan in 2003, it will be possible to receive
relatively high-quality images while viewers are moving. It is thus
expected that a television-broadcast receiving function will be
installed in mobile terminal devices, such as notebook PCs.
As discussed above, because of the forthcoming implementation of
digital terrestrial broadcasts, it will become possible to easily
watch television broadcasts with mobile terminal devices. However,
the following problems will be encountered.
When a viewer watches a television broadcast while moving around
outdoors, the broadcast wave may be intercepted by, for example,
buildings, thus causing the intensity (strength) of the received
signal to decrease, thereby interrupting the continuous reception
of images.
In order to solve the problem of fading caused by the reception of
broadcast waves via a plurality of paths, diversity reception
should be performed. This, however, makes it necessary to increase
the size of mobile terminal devices due to, for example, the need
to provide a plurality of antennas.
Additionally, when a viewer watches a television broadcast with a
mobile terminal device indoors, high quality images cannot always
be received due to the influence of objects intercepting the
signals, such as the walls of buildings. This may be overcome by
connecting the mobile terminal device to an antenna cable or by
using a wireless local area network (LAN). However, the connection
of an antenna cable restricts the viewing location, thus preventing
the viewer from moving around indoors, thereby eliminating the
advantages of using a mobile terminal device. Unlike the reception
of television broadcasts, the use of a wireless LAN requires the
transmission of radio waves, which increases the power consumption
and also increases the number of bands required to receive high
bandwidth data, such as, moving pictures. This results in a
decrease in the transmission rate of other wireless LAN devices
regardless of the reception condition of a television broadcast by
using a mobile terminal device.
Also, when a viewer is away from his/her local area, he/she is
unable to watch local broadcasts.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in order to solve
the above-described problems.
An information processing apparatus for use in an information
processing system includes: direct receiving means for directly
receiving television broadcast waves; indirect receiving means for
indirectly receiving the television broadcast waves; and switching
means for determining whether the television broadcast waves are to
be received by the direct receiving means or the indirect receiving
means by switching between the direct receiving means and the
indirect receiving means based on their reception conditions. With
this configuration, it is possible to obtain television-broadcast
video signals from the selected receiving means.
The direct receiving means is formed of a television-broadcast
receiver for directly receiving the television broadcast waves. The
indirect receiving means is preferably formed of a communication
device provided with a wireless cellular telephone function using a
wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA) system in which
signals having a large transmission capacity can be transmitted and
received, or a communication device provided with a wireless LAN
communication function. The indirect receiving means accesses a
remote terminal device at a predetermined access point via a public
circuit network or a private network so as to receive a television
broadcast received by the remote terminal device.
If the reception condition of the television broadcast received by
the television-broadcast receiver is sufficient for watching the
broadcast, the television broadcast signal received by the
television-broadcast receiver is used. If the reception condition
is not sufficient, the television broadcast signal received by the
indirect receiving means is used. Thus, the above-described
problems can be solved.
More specifically, according to one aspect of the present
invention, there is provided an information processing system
including a remote terminal device for transmitting a television
broadcast via a communication network and an information processing
apparatus. The information processing apparatus includes: a
communication device for receiving the television broadcast from
the remote terminal device; a television-broadcast receiver for
receiving television broadcast waves; and a reception monitor for
generating a selection signal for determining whether the
television broadcast is to be received by the television-broadcast
receiver or by the communication device based on the reception
condition of the television broadcast received by the
television-broadcast receiver.
With this configuration, a television broadcast can be received by
either the television-broadcast receiver or the communication
device based on the reception condition of the television-broadcast
receiver. If the reception condition of the television-broadcast
receiver is not sufficient, the television broadcast can be
received from the remote terminal device via the communication
device.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is
provided an information processing apparatus including: a
television-broadcast receiver; a communication device for receiving
a television broadcast via a communication network; and a reception
monitor for generating a selection signal for determining whether
the television broadcast is to be received by the
television-broadcast receiver or by the communication device based
on the reception condition of the television broadcast received by
the television-broadcast receiver.
With this configuration, a television broadcast can be received by
either the television-broadcast receiver or the communication
device based on the reception condition of the television-broadcast
receiver. If the reception condition of the television-broadcast
receiver is not sufficient, the television broadcast can be
received from the remote terminal device via the communication
device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the principle of the present
invention;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically illustrating an
information processing apparatus;
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a portion of a first
embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the processing performed by the
first embodiment;
FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating a second embodiment of the
present invention;
FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating the processing performed by the
second embodiment;
FIGS. 7A and 7B are block diagrams partially illustrating a third
embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram illustrating a portion of a fourth
embodiment of the present invention; and
FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram illustrating a portion of a fifth
embodiment of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The principle of the present invention is explained below with
reference to FIG. 1 which schematically illustrates an information
processing system 900. In an information processing apparatus 1
indicated by a region surrounding by the broken line, direct
television-broadcast receiving means 10 directly receives
television broadcast waves from broadcast stations via an antenna
5, and supplies a corresponding received signal to automatic
changeover means 20. In the automatic changeover means 20,
reception-condition monitoring means 22 compares the
signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio indicating the reception condition of
the received signal with a predetermined S/N ratio required for
displaying sufficient quality images using the level of the
broadcast signal received by the direct television-broadcast
receiving means 10.
Meanwhile, indirect television-broadcast receiving means 50
receives a television broadcast signal which is originally
transmitted from a remote terminal device 58 having a function for
transmitting television broadcasts received at home and which is
then wirelessly transmitted from a base station 56 via a public
circuit network 57. The reception-condition monitoring means 22
then compares a signal indicating the reception condition, for
example, the reception strength, of the television broadcast signal
received by the indirect television-broadcast receiving means 50
with a predetermined level of strength required for displaying
sufficient quality images using the level of the broadcast signal
received by the indirect television-broadcast receiving means
50.
If the signal received by the direct television-broadcast receiving
means 10 has a sufficient S/N ratio, switching means 24 is changed
to supply the television broadcast signal to signal processing
means 30, and a corresponding image is displayed on display means
40 based on the television broadcast signal.
On the other hand, if the signal received by the direct
television-broadcast receiving means 10 does not have a sufficient
S/N ratio, and if the television broadcast signal received by the
indirect television-broadcast receiving means 50 has a sufficient
level of reception strength, the switching means 24 is changed to
supply the television broadcast signal received by the indirect
television-broadcast receiving means 50 to the signal processing
means 30. A corresponding image is then displayed on the display
means 40 based on the television broadcast signal.
A first embodiment of the present invention is described below in
detail with reference to FIGS. 2 through 4.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically illustrating an
information processing apparatus 100 used in the first embodiment
of the present invention. A notebook PC is provided with an antenna
60 connected to a television-broadcast receiver 70, which is
included in the notebook PC and serves as the direct
television-broadcast receiving means (discussed below), and an
antenna 90 connected to the indirect television-broadcast receiving
means (discussed below). The notebook PC is also provided with a PC
function unit 83 including, for example, an input device 87 and a
display device 86.
FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the essential portion of an
information processing system 1000 of the first embodiment. FIG. 4
is a flowchart illustrating the processing performed by the first
embodiment. The first embodiment is described in detail below with
reference to FIGS. 3 and 4.
The information processing apparatus 100 is indicated by a region
surrounded by the broken lines in FIG. 3. In this information
processing apparatus 100, the direct television-broadcast receiving
means is implemented by using the television-broadcast receiver 70.
The indirect television-broadcast receiving means is implemented by
using a wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA) transceiver
91 having a W-CDMA function, which can be connected to a
communication line, such as a public circuit network.
In the initial state (step 300) of the information processing
apparatus 100 in FIG. 4, the PC function unit 83 is powered on,
while the television-broadcast receiver 70 and the W-CDMA
transceiver 91 is powered off. It is then determined in step 305
whether television-broadcast receiving software is to be started by
using the input device 87 of the PC function unit 83. If the
outcome of step 305 is yes, the process proceeds to step 310 in
which an input screen showing, for example, the channel of a
television broadcast to be viewed, is displayed on the display
device 86. In response to the television-broadcast receiving
software starting, the television-broadcast receiver 70 and the
W-CDMA transceiver 91 are powered on.
Then, in step 315, channel information concerning the broadcast
channel, and access information concerning the terminal to be
accessed via the W-CDMA transceiver 91, for example, a home
telephone number, are input from the input device 87, and a
corresponding channel selection signal and a corresponding access
signal are output from the PC function unit 83.
Furthermore, in step 315, based on the channel selection signal
corresponding to the channel information input via the input device
87, a desired channel is selected in a tuner 72 from the television
broadcast signal received by the antenna 60. Then, a received
signal is input into a baseband processor 74 and undergoes baseband
processing. The baseband-processed received signal is supplied to
an MPEG decoder 76, and a corresponding video signal is output from
the MPEG decoder 76.
The S/N ratio of the received signal is output to a received-signal
monitor 80 from the baseband processor 74. In step 320, the
received-signal monitor 80 then compares this S/N ratio with a
predetermined S/N ratio which is stored in the received-signal
monitor 80 or storage means, such as a storage device 85 of the PC
function unit 83, and which is required for displaying sufficient
quality images using the signal received by the
television-broadcast receiver 70.
Meanwhile, the channel selection signal corresponding to the
channel information input via the input device 87 and the telephone
number are input into the W-CDMA transceiver 91, and are then
transmitted from the antenna 90 via a baseband processor 96, a
radio frequency (RF) section 94, and a switch 92, which is changed
to the transmitting side. A transmission signal including the
channel selection signal and the telephone number is received by a
base station 97 and is then received at the predetermined telephone
number via a public circuit network 98, which may include a
wireless network. Then, the desired television broadcast signal is
transmitted to the W-CDMA transceiver 91 from a remote terminal
device 99 having a television broadcast receiving function and an
information transmitting/receiving function.
The transmitted television broadcast signal is received again by
the antenna 90 via the public circuit network 98 and the base
station 97, and is input into the RF section 94 via the switch 92,
which is changed to the receiving side. In the RF section 94, the
television broadcast signal is converted into an intermediate
frequency signal, which is then supplied to the baseband processor
96 and undergoes baseband processing.
In this embodiment, a signal corresponding to the reception
strength of the received signal (received signal strength
indicator: RSSI) is output to the received-signal monitor 80 from
the baseband processor 96. In step 320, the received-signal monitor
80 compares the RSSI signal with the predetermined level of
reception strength which is stored in the received-signal monitor
80 or in the storage device 85 of the PC function unit 83 and which
is required for displaying the sufficient quality images.
It is then determined in step 325 based on the comparison results
of the S/N ratio and the reception strength by the received-signal
monitor 80 whether the reception condition of each of the
television-broadcast receiver 70 and the W-CDMA transceiver 91 is
sufficient for displaying the images.
If the S/N ratio of the television-broadcast receiver 70 is greater
than the predetermined S/N ratio, it means that the outcome of step
325 is yes. Then, a determination is further made in step 330 as to
whether connection by the W-CDMA transceiver 91 is in progress. If
the result of step 330 is yes, the process proceeds to step 335 in
which the communication by the W-CDMA transceiver 91 is
disconnected. If it is found in step 330 that connection by the
W-CDMA transceiver 91 is not in progress, or after the W-CDMA
transceiver 91 is disconnected in step 335, the process proceeds to
step 340. In step 340, a changeover signal is transmitted to a
changeover circuit 82 from the received-signal monitor 80 so as to
connect contact C with contact A. Then, in step 345, a power
control signal is transmitted to the MPEG decoder 76 of the
television-broadcast receiver 70 from the received-signal monitor
80 so as to switch on the MPEG decoder 76, and also, a power
control signal is transmitted to the baseband processor 96 so as to
switch off the baseband processor 96.
Subsequently, in step 370, the video signal is output to the PC
function unit 83 from the MPEG decoder 76 via the contacts A and C
of the changeover circuit 82, and is displayed on the display
device 86 via a signal processor 84.
The signal processor 84 may perform various types of signal
processing on the video signal. For example, the signal processor
84 may process the video signal so that the size of the image
matches the size of the display device 86 or certain frames of the
image are stored.
In contrast, if it is found in step 325 that the S/N ratio of the
television-broadcast receiver 70 is smaller than or equal to the
predetermined S/N ratio, the process proceeds to step 350 in which
the MPEG decoder 76 of the television-broadcast receiver 70 is
switched off based on the power control signal in order to reduce
the power consumption. Then, in step 355, the changeover switch 82
is controlled to connect contact C with contact B based on the
reception-condition signal so as to switch on the W-CDMA
transceiver 91.
Thereafter, in step 360, the W-CDMA transceiver 91 is connected to
the predetermined telephone number, and the television broadcast
signal is received from the predetermined telephone number via the
communication network. In step 370, the television broadcast image
of the desired channel is received from the baseband processor 96
via the changeover switch 82 and the signal processor 84 and is
displayed on the display device 86.
It is then determined in step 375 whether the reception of the
television broadcast is to be discontinued on occasions, for
example, while the television broadcast is being displayed or when
the desired program has finished. If the result of step 375 is yes,
the process proceeds to step 380 in which the television-broadcast
receiver 70 and the W-CDMA transceiver 91 are powered off. Then,
the process returns to step 305 in which it is determined whether
the television broadcast receiving software is to be started. If
the outcome of step 375 is no, the process returns to step 320.
As described above, according to the first embodiment, when the
reception level in the television-broadcast receiver 70 becomes
lower than a predetermined level, the reception of a television
broadcast is automatically changed to the W-CDMA transceiver 91,
which serves as the indirect television-broadcast receiving means,
thereby maintaining the continuous reception of a television
broadcast. Additionally, in the first embodiment, since the
television broadcast receiving function is installed in a notebook
PC, viewers are able to watch television broadcasts even outdoors.
It is possible to select one of the two reception modes, i.e., the
direct reception of a television broadcast by the
television-broadcast receiver 70 and the indirect reception of a
television broadcast by the W-CDMA transceiver 91 via the public
circuit network 98 according to the reception condition. The
selected reception mode is displayed on the display device 86, such
as a monitor. Accordingly, the viewer is able to watch the
television broadcast by using the information processing apparatus
100 even while the viewer is moving. The images may be transferred
from the remote terminal device 99 according to a videophone system
or the Internet.
In this embodiment, the W-CDMA transceiver 91 is powered off in
step 335. However, power may be supplied to the W-CDMA transceiver
91 even while a television broadcast is being received by the
television-broadcast receiver 70, in which case, the
received-signal monitor 80 receives signals from the
television-broadcast receiver 70 and the W-CDMA transceiver 91 so
as to continue monitoring their reception conditions.
According to the first embodiment configured as described above,
even when the reception condition in the television-broadcast
receiver 70 becomes poor due to interference by, for example, a
building, on occasions, for example, when the viewer is receiving a
television broadcast in an automobile, the received-signal monitor
80 is able to determine that the level of the received signal has
become lower than a predetermined level. In this case, the power
supply to the MPEG decoder 76 is discontinued, and a changeover
signal is transmitted to the changeover circuit 82 so as to connect
contact C with contact B. Then, a desired television broadcast
signal received by the W-CDMA transceiver 91 can be speedily
processed in the baseband processor 96, and the processed video
signal is then output to the signal processor 84 via the changeover
switch 82, and is displayed on the display device 86.
A second embodiment is described in detail below with reference to
FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically illustrating
the configuration of an information processing system 2000 of the
second embodiment and an information processing apparatus 200 is
indicated by a region surrounded by the broken lines. FIG. 6 is a
flowchart illustrating the essential portion of the
television-broadcast receiving processing performed by the second
embodiment. In the second embodiment, the same or similar functions
as or to the first embodiment are designated with like reference
numerals.
In the second embodiment, the television-broadcast receiver 70,
which serves as a television-broadcast receiving module, and a
wireless LAN module 161, which serves as the indirect
television-broadcast receiving means, are preferably installed in a
portable information processing apparatus 200, such as a notebook
PC. Unlike the first embodiment, the wireless LAN module 161, which
is accessible to a private line, is installed as the indirect
television-broadcast receiving means.
As in step 300 of FIG. 4, in the initial state of the information
processing apparatus 200 in step 500 of FIG. 6, the information
processing apparatus 200 is powered on, and the
television-broadcast receiver 70 and the wireless LAN module 161
are powered off. It is then determined in step 505 whether the
television receiving software stored in the storage device 85 of
the PC function unit 83 is to be started. If the outcome of step
505 is yes, the process proceeds to step 510. In step 510, the
signal processor 84 starts supplying power to the
television-broadcast receiver 70 and the wireless LAN module 161.
Then, in step 515, channel information concerning the channel of a
desired television broadcast and the address of the transmitting
side with which the wireless LAN module 161 is to communicate are
input via the input device 87.
In step 520, a channel selection signal indicating the channel
information is sent to the tuner 72 of the television-broadcast
receiver 70, and the television broadcast signal of the selected
channel is then output to the baseband processor 74. A bit error
rate (BER) signal indicating the reception condition of the
received broadcast signal is output to the received-signal monitor
80 from the baseband processor 74. As in the first embodiment, the
received-signal monitor 80 compares the BER signal with a
predetermined reception level stored in the storage device 85 of
the PC function unit 83. It is then determined in step 525 whether
the television broadcast signal received by the
television-broadcast receiver 70 has a sufficient level for
displaying high quality images.
If the outcome of step S525 is yes, the process proceeds to step
530 in which a determination is further made as to whether
connection by the wireless LAN module 161 is in progress. If the
result of step 530 is yes, the process proceeds to step 535 in
which the communication by the wireless LAN module 161 is
disconnected. If connection by the wireless LAN module 161 is not
in progress, it means that the television broadcast signal is not
received by the wireless LAN module 161, and the process proceeds
to step 540. In step 540, the power supply to a baseband processor
166 of the wireless LAN module 161 is discontinued, and also, the
connection of the changeover circuit 82 is changed to connect
contact C with contact A. In step 545, the power supply to the MPEG
decoder 76 is started. Then, in step 570, a television-broadcast
video signal of the desired channel is output from the MPEG decoder
76, and is displayed on the display device 86 via the changeover
switch 82 and the signal processor 84.
On the other hand, if it is found in step 525 by the
received-signal monitor 80 that the reception level received by the
television-broadcast receiver 70 is lower than the predetermined
level, the process proceeds to step 550. In step 550, a power
control signal is supplied to the television-broadcast receiver 70
from the received-signal monitor 80 so that the power supply to the
MPEG decoder 76 is discontinued.
Then, in step 555, the connection of the changeover switch 82 is
changed to connect contact C with contact B. In step 560, the
signal processor 84 is connected to the wireless LAN module 161,
and the address information of the information processing apparatus
200 is added to the desired channel information and the address
information of the transmitting side, both items of information
being input via the input device 87 or stored in the storage device
85 in advance. Then, the transmission information including the
above-described items of information is transmitted to the baseband
processor 166 of the wireless LAN module 161. An RF section 164
converts the transmission information into transmission waves,
which are then transmitted from an antenna 160 via a switch 162
which is changed to the transmitting side. The transmission signal
is received by a transceiver 167 installed on, for example, a
ceiling in a building, and is further received by a remote terminal
device 169 identified by the transmitting address via a cable 168,
which is a LAN cable. Subsequently, the television broadcast of the
desired channel is received by a television-broadcast receiving
function provided for the remote terminal device 169, and is
transmitted to the information processing apparatus 200 which is
indicated in the received transmission information.
In step 570, the received television broadcast signal is input into
the baseband processor 166 via the switch 162 and the RF section
164, and undergoes baseband processing. A resulting video signal is
then displayed on the display device 86 via the changeover circuit
82 and the signal processor 84.
The above-described LAN cable 168 may include a wireless network.
The PC function unit 83 may perform certain processing so that the
size of the image matches the size of the display device 86 or the
video signal may be stored.
Meanwhile, the baseband processor 166 processes the received signal
and outputs the information indicating the RSSI level to the
received-signal monitor 80. Then, the received-signal monitor 80
compares the RSSI level with the predetermined RSSI level which is
stored in the storage device 85 of the PC function unit 83 and
which is required for displaying sufficient quality images using
the television broadcast signal received via the wireless LAN
module 161.
It is then determined in step 575 whether the reception of the
television broadcast is to be discontinued on occasions, for
example, while the television broadcast is being displayed or when
it is finished. If the outcome of step 575 is yes, the process
proceeds to step 580 in which the power supply to the
television-broadcast receiver 70 or the wireless LAN module 161 is
discontinued. Then, the process returns to step 505 in which a
determination is made as to whether a television broadcast is to be
viewed. If not, step 505 is repeated.
Even while the television broadcast signal is being received by the
television-broadcast receiver 70, the received-signal monitor 80
continues to receive the BER signal from the baseband processor 74
so that it can monitor the reception condition of the
television-broadcast receiver 70. For example, when the reception
condition of the television-broadcast receiver 70 becomes poor and
the BER signal is lowered to a level which is not sufficient for
displaying high quality images while the information processing
apparatus 200 is being used outdoors, the reception condition is
informed to the PC function unit 83 from the received-signal
monitor 80. Then, according to the reception condition signal, the
PC function unit 83 discontinues the power supply to the MPEG
decoder 76 of the television-broadcast receiver 70 and also changes
the changeover circuit 82 to connect contact C with contact B.
Simultaneously, the PC function unit 83 sends a power control
signal to the wireless LAN module 161, and also sends the access
signal indicating the indoor access point and the channel selection
signal to the baseband processor 166 of the wireless LAN module
161. The wireless LAN module 161 changes the switch 162 to the
transmitting side, and transmits the access signal and the channel
selection signal via the antenna 160. Thereafter, the switch 162 is
changed to the receiving side, and the wireless LAN module 161
enters the reception standby mode.
Even while the television broadcast is being received and displayed
via the wireless LAN module 161, the BER signal continues to be
sent to the received-signal monitor 80 from the baseband processor
74 of the television-broadcast receiver 70. When the BER signal
again reaches the level required for displaying sufficiently high
quality images, the reception of the television broadcast by the
wireless LAN module 161 is discontinued, and the reception of the
television-broadcast receiver 70 is restarted.
As described above, two reception modes are provided for the
information processing apparatus 200: the direct reception for
receiving a television broadcast by the television-broadcast
receiver 70 and the indirect reception for receiving a television
broadcast via the wireless LAN module 161. These two modes can be
switched according to the reception condition, thereby enabling the
viewers to watch television broadcasts either outdoors or
indoors.
Although in the second embodiment the wireless LAN module 161 is
used as the indirect television-broadcast receiving means, another
wireless communication method, such as Bluetooth, may be
employed.
A third embodiment is described below with reference to FIGS. 7A
and 7B. Only the essential portion of the third embodiment which is
applied to the first or second embodiment, i.e., the changeover
circuit 82 and the related elements, are shown in FIGS. 7A and
7B.
In FIG. 7A, an output from the MPEG decoder 76 is stored in a
storage device 600, thereby making it possible to record images
from the television-broadcast receiver 70. While the reception mode
is being switched to the indirect television-broadcast reception
mode by using the W-CDMA transceiver 91 of the first embodiment or
the wireless LAN module 161 of the second embodiment due to a poor
reception condition of the television-broadcast receiver 70, the
display of the television broadcast becomes intermittent. In this
case, according to the third embodiment, the images output from the
television-broadcast receiver 70 can be recorded on the storage
device 600. Thereafter, a switch SW1 is changed to connect contact
F with contact D, and the recorded images are played back. Then,
when the W-CDMA transceiver 91 or the wireless LAN module 161
becomes ready for displaying the images according to the television
broadcast signal, the switch SW1 is changed to connect contact F
with contact E. With this configuration, the images can be
displayed without being considerably interrupted while the
reception mode is being switched between the direct
television-broadcast receiving means and the indirect
television-broadcast receiving means.
Instead of using the storage device 600, the storage device 85 of
the first or second embodiment may be used for storing the images.
Additionally, the switch SW1 may preferably be controlled by a
control signal from the signal processor 84.
In FIG. 7B, a signal before being decoded in the MPEG decoder 76 is
stored in the storage device 85 of the PC function unit 83. In this
case, a signal subjected to baseband processing in the baseband
processor 74 is stored in the storage device 85 via the signal
processor 84. When playing back the television broadcast signal
stored in the storage device 85, the television broadcast signal is
input into the MPEG decoder 76 and is MPEG-decoded into a video
signal. Then, the changeover switch 82 is changed to connect
contact C with contact A. Accordingly, the video signal is
displayed on the display device 86 via the signal processor 84.
As discussed above, since signals are stored before being
MPEG-decoded, the amount of data stored in the storage device 85
can be decreased.
MPEG decoding may be performed in the signal processor 84 by using
software, in which case, the MPEG decoder 76 is not required.
A fourth embodiment is discussed below with reference to FIG. 8.
Only the essential portion of the fourth embodiment is shown in
FIG. 8. In the fourth embodiment, a television broadcast received
by the television-broadcast receiver 70 is transferred to the
access point via the W-CDMA transceiver 91 of the first embodiment
or the wireless LAN module 161 of the second embodiment.
In FIG. 8, a switch SW2 is provided between contacts A and B, and
by closing the switch SW2, a television-broadcast video signal from
the MPEG decoder 76 of the television-broadcast receiver 70 is
output to the W-CDMA transceiver 91 or the baseband processor 96 of
the wireless LAN module 161.
With this configuration, a television broadcast can be transferred
to another apparatus. For example, a television broadcast program
which is broadcast in a local broadcast station can be transferred
to a remote place, or a television broadcast program can be
recorded by using another apparatus.
A fifth embodiment is described below with reference to FIG. 9. In
the fifth embodiment, a television broadcast received by the
television-broadcast receiver 70 and a television broadcast
received by the W-CDMA transceiver 91 of the first embodiment or
the wireless LAN module 161 of the second embodiment are input into
the signal processor 84 via switches SW3 and SW4, and then, both
the broadcast programs can be displayed. Accordingly, in the fifth
embodiment, different television broadcasts from the
television-broadcast receiver 70 and from the W-CDMA transceiver 91
or the wireless LAN module 161 can be received and displayed.
While various embodiments of the present invention have been shown
and described, it should be understood that other modifications,
substitutions and alternatives may be apparent to one of ordinary
skill in the art. Such modifications, substitutions and
alternatives can be made without departing form the spirit and
scope of the invention, which should be determined from the
appended claims.
Various features of the invention are set forth in the appended
claims.
* * * * *